An inflatable bed includes a bedstead assembly, a mattress assembly having at least one air chamber, and an electric air pump unit disposed on the bedstead assembly. The air pump unit includes a centrifugal pump device for performing initial inflation of the air chamber, a diaphragm pump device for performing subsequent inflation of the air chamber, and a control valve operable to allow for and interrupt fluid communication between the centrifugal pump device and the air chamber.
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1. An inflatable bed comprising:
a bedstead assembly;
a mattress assembly having at least one air chamber; and
an electric air pump unit in connection with said mattress assembly and including:
a centrifugal pump device in fluid communication with said air chamber in said mattress assembly for inflating said air chamber,
a first control valve operable to allow for and interrupt fluid communication between said centrifugal pump device and said air chamber, said first control valve being disposed between said centrifugal pump device and said air chamber,
a diaphragm pump device in fluid communication with said air chamber fluidly separate from said first control valve for inflating said air chamber,
an air pressure sensor in fluid communication with said air chamber, and
a controller;
said controller being configured to control said first control valve to allow for flow of fluid from said centrifugal pump device into said air chamber therethrough so that said centrifugal pump device is operable to perform initial inflation of said air chamber to a first pressure value;
said air pressure sensor configured emit a signal indicating that the first pressure value has been reached; and
said controller being configured to receive the signal from said air pressure sensor and accordingly control said first control valve to interrupt flow of fluid from said centrifugal pump device into said air chamber therethrough, deactivate the centrifugal pump, and activate the diaphragm pump so that said diaphragm pump device is operable to perform subsequent inflation of the air chamber from the first pressure value to a second pressure value.
2. The inflatable bed as claimed in
3. The inflatable bed as claimed in
said mattress assembly is formed with two said air chambers that are not in fluid communication with each other; and said air pump unit further includes:
a first transfer chamber formed in said housing and in fluid communication with said centrifugal pump device;
a second transfer chamber formed in said housing and in fluid communication with said first transfer chamber and said air chamber, said first control valve being operable to allow for and interrupt fluid communication between said first and second transfer chambers; and
two second control valves each controllable to allow for and interrupt fluid communication between said second transfer chamber and a respective one of said air chambers.
4. The inflatable bed as claimed in
5. The inflatable bed as claimed in
6. The inflatable bed as claimed in
7. The inflatable bed as claimed in
a valve seat formed with a valve hole;
a diaphragm valve;
a valve rod connected fixedly to said diaphragm valve; a coiled compression spring for biasing said diaphragm valve to close said valve hole in said valve seat; and
a driving unit for moving said valve rod.
8. The inflatable bed as claimed in
a cam member pivotable relative to said valve seat and having a cam surface and a sector gear portion, an end of said valve rod being biased by said compression spring to contact said cam surface of said cam member;
a driving rod rotatable about a central axis thereof and having a threaded portion engaging said sector gear portion;
a motor having a motor shaft; and
a transmission unit interconnecting said motor shaft and said driving rod for transferring rotation of said motor shaft to said driving rod.
9. The inflatable bed as claimed in
a driving pulley sleeved fixedly on said motor shaft;
a driven pulley sleeved fixedly on said driving rod; and
a transmission belt trained on said driving pulley and said driven pulley.
10. The inflatable bed as claimed in
said mattress assembly includes a plurality of said air chambers, and a plurality of air conduits in fluid communication with said air chambers, respectively, each of said air conduits having a connecting end; and
said electric air pump unit includes a plurality of connecting members engaging respectively and threadably said connecting ends of said air conduits of said mattress assembly.
11. The inflatable bed as claimed in
12. The inflatable bed as claimed in
13. The inflatable bed as claimed in
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This application claims priority of Chinese Application No. 200610148452.X, filed on Nov. 10, 2006.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inflatable bed, and more particularly to an inflatable bed having a built-in electric air pump unit for inflating a mattress assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional inflatable bed includes a built-in electric air pump for inflating a mattress of the inflatable bed. When the electric air pump is a centrifugal pump, although it can inflate the mattress at a higher speed, the air pressure in the mattress cannot be increased precisely to a desired pressure value. Conversely, when the electric air pump is a diaphragm pump, although it can inflate the mattress to increase precisely the air pressure in the mattress to the desired pressure value, the inflating speed thereof is slow.
The object of this invention is to provide an inflatable bed that includes an improved air pump unit, which can inflate a mattress at a high speed and which can increase precisely the air pressure in the mattress to a desired pressure value.
According to this invention, an inflatable bed includes a bedstead assembly, a mattress assembly having at least one air chamber, and an electric air pump unit disposed on the bedstead assembly. The air pump unit includes a centrifugal pump device for performing initial inflation of the air chamber, a diaphragm pump device for performing subsequent inflation of the air chamber, and a control valve operable to allow for and interrupt fluid communication between the centrifugal pump device and the air chamber.
To inflate the air chamber to a desired volume, the Centrifugal pump device may be first operated until the air chamber is expanded to about 90% of the desired volume at a higher speed. Subsequently, the diaphragm pump device is operated to inflate precisely the air chamber to the desired volume at a slower speed.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail in connection with the preferred embodiments, it should be noted that similar elements and structures are designated by like reference numerals throughout the entire disclosure.
Referring to
The mattress assembly 1 includes a rectangular top sheet 11, a rectangular bottom sheet 12, two juxtaposed surrounding sheets 13 interconnecting the top and bottom sheets 11, 12 to define two air chambers (E) that are not in fluid communication with each other, and two reinforcing units 14 disposed respectively within the air chambers (E). When inflated fully, the air chambers (E) have the same shape and volume. As such, the mattress assembly 1 has two mattresses 10 each including a respective one of the surrounding sheets 13 and defining a respective one of the air chambers (E). Each of the mattresses 10 may be used to support one person. Each of the air chambers (E) is defined among the top and bottom sheets 11, 12 and the corresponding surrounding sheet 13. Each of the reinforcing units 14 includes a row of pull belts 141 and a surrounding belt 142 disposed around the row of pull belts 141 and formed with a plurality of vent holes 143 therethrough. Each of the pull belts 141 and the surrounding belts 142 is connected fixedly to the top and bottom sheets 11, 12. The top and bottom sheets 11, 12, the surrounding sheets 13, and the reinforcing units 14 are received within the covering unit. The covering unit includes an upper covering member 15, a lower covering member 16, and a surrounding member 17. The upper and lower covering members 15, 16 are interconnected by a zipper unit. The zipper unit consists of upper and lower zipper halves 18, 18′ attached respectively to the upper and lower covering members 15, 16 and interconnected removably. The cushion members 6 are disposed between the upper covering member 15 and the top sheet 11. The bedstead assembly 3 includes a rectangular bedstead body 31 and a cover 32 for covering the bedstead body 31. The surrounding member 17 includes four sponge bars 171 arranged to form a rectangular frame disposed in the covering unit between the upper and lower covering members 15, 16, and four corner positioning members 172 (only three are shown in
Referring to
When inflated fully, the volume of the large air chamber (E′) is greater than that of the small air chamber (E″). The reinforcing units are disposed respectively within the large and small air chambers (E′, E″). The surrounding sheets are disposed respectively around the reinforcing units. As such, the mattress assembly 1′ has a large mattress 10 and a small mattress 10′. Each of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′ includes a respective one of the surrounding sheets, and defines a respective one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″). The large and small mattresses 10, 10′ are used to support the body and head of one person, respectively.
With particular reference to
It is noted that the centrifugal pump device 21 provides a smaller thrust for forcing air to flow at a higher flow rate, while the diaphragm pump device 22 provides a greater thrust for forcing air to flow at a slower flow rate. To promote the efficiency of the electric air pump unit 2 to inflate fully a selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″), the centrifugal pump device 21 is first operated until the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) is expanded to about 90% of its full-inflated volume. Subsequently, the diaphragm pump device 22 is operated to inflate the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) fully. That is, the centrifugal pump device 21 and the diaphragm pump device 22 perform respectively initial and subsequent inflation of the mattress assembly 1′. As a consequence, the air pump unit 2 can inflate the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) at a high speed to increase precisely the air pressure in the same to a desired pressure value. Thus, the object of this invention can be achieved.
To inflate the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″), the centrifugal pump device 21 is activated, and the first control valve 25 and the corresponding second control valve 26 are opened. Hence, air is drawn into the centrifugal pump device 21, and is then forced into the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) via the first and second transfer chambers 23, 24. When the pressure sensor 27 detects that the air pressure in the second transfer chamber 24 reaches a first preset pressure value, e.g., 420 mmHG, it emits a signal to a controller 5 (see
With further reference to
With further reference to
When it desired to inflate the mattress 1, the main inflation key 56 is first pressed to inflate the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) to the first preset pressure value through operation of the centrifugal pump device 21. Next, a selected one of the head key 52 and the body key 53 is pressed, and subsequently, the confirmation key 54 is operated to select the softness of the selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′. During operation of the confirmation key 54, the word “FIRM” is shown in the display 51 when the confirmation key 54 is pressed for the first time, the word “MEDIUM” is shown in the display 51 when the confirmation key 54 is pressed for the second time, and the word “LUSH” is shown in the display 51 when the confirmation key 54 is pressed for the third time. Thereafter, if necessary, the micro-adjustment inflation key 55 or the micro-adjustment deflation key 55′ can be pressed to micro-adjust the air pressure in the selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′ through operation of the diaphragm pump device 22. When “FIRM” is selected during operation of the confirmation key 54, the selected one of the large and small air chambers (E′, E″) can be inflated fully.
When it is desired to deflate a selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′, a corresponding one of the head key 52 and the body key 53 is pressed to open the first control valve 25 and the corresponding second control valve 26 to thereby allow air to flow from the selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10, out of the housing 20 via the first control valve 25 and the centrifugal pump device 21.
When it is desired to increase the softness of a selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′ the corresponding one of the head key 52 and the body key 53 is pressed, and the micro-adjustment deflation key 55′ is operated. When the micro-adjustment deflation key 55′ is pressed, the first control valve 25 and the corresponding second control valve 26 are opened to allow for outflow of air from the selected one of the large and small mattresses 10, 10′. When the micro-adjustment deflation key 55′ is released, the first control valve 25 and the corresponding second control valve 26 are closed.
When it is desired to change the first preset pressure value, the memory key 58 is operated.
The control panel 5 can be converted between locked and unlocked states through pressing of the lock key 59. In the locked state, when any of the remaining keys 52, 53, 54, 55, 55′, 56, 57, 58 is pressed (e.g., unintentionally), no operation is executed and the mattress assembly 1 remains in its present state.
Referring to
In this embodiment, with additional reference to
Referring to
To inflate the air chamber (E) to a desired volume, the centrifugal pump device 21 (see
With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims.
Wang, Cheng-Chung, Wang, Kenneth
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